


Human Displays of Affection

by detectivelion



Category: Homestuck
Genre: M/M, Merstuck, Some other time perhaps, just pointless fluff, literally no plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-27
Updated: 2014-12-27
Packaged: 2018-03-03 19:13:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2874881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/detectivelion/pseuds/detectivelion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Each day, Karkat comes out with his red raft to visit a merman.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Human Displays of Affection

He always had to wait for low tide. He could feel the shift in the water, alerting him to the change long before Karkat would be aware of it. The sun was still rising when he popped up over the surface. The last pastels of dawn were still fading when he spotted the raft.

It was a blob of red bobbing over the lazy waves. Equally-bright yellow flashed and spun as the raft’s occupant drew an oar through the water, making quick progress. Not quick enough, though.

John dove beneath the water, his tail propelling him towards the raft. He resurfaced soundlessly, grasped the edge, and began to push the boat farther out to sea. A loud curse and a glower was Karkat’s greeting.

“Good morning!” John snickered. The human only lifted a finger in what he’d learned was an offensive gesture.

Karkat grumbled, dragging the oar back onto his raft and allowing John to steer them far from the shoreline. When they were far from prying-eyes, the merman let the inflatable boat drift freely. He folded his arms over the edge, peering up at the human with a grin.

“Any fishing boats scheduled to come out?” John prompted.

Karkat began unwrapping his breakfast. When low tide came early, the human had to bring a meal, despite John’s offers to simply catch him a fish. “Not today,” Karkat told him. “I think there’s one going out next week, but if the tide chart is right it’ll be before I come out to see you.”

At the sight of a silver wrapping, the fins on John’s face flared out. Beyond that wrapping was a frosting-covered, jelly-filled perfection. The human gave John an unimpressed look as he bit off the corner of his poptart. He broke off another piece, holding it out to John.

“Thank you!” John chirped, pulling himself up to close his lips around the piece. Karkat’s face turned pink, as though he were sunburned, and he yanked his hand away.

Karkat finished the rest on his own, then gulped down a bottle of saltless water. As soon as he’d stowed the trash away, John’s smile grew wicked.

The human took one look at him. He glared, snapping, “John, don’t you fucking--”

He lunged, grasping hold of Karkat’s arm and yanking him headfirst into the water. The boy came up sputtering. He immediately grasped John and tried to dunk his head under, to no avail.

“Karkat,” John laughed, batting his hands away. His voice gurgled through a mouthful of water. He spit it out before adding, “Merman, remember? That won’t do anything.”

“Maybe that won’t but dragging you to shore and leaving you in the fucking tidepools sure would.” Karkat’s voice was a snarl.

The merman swam around him, dark blue tail flicking water into the air. “What’s the problem? You always swim with me.”

“The problem,” he ground out, “is that it’s fucking cold.”

“Aren’t wetsuits supposed to keep you warm.”

Karkat rolled his eyes--a rich brown that made John’s heart grow warm. “They are,” he said irritably, “once your body heats up the water. The water which is, and this may come as a surprise to someone of your intelligence, really fucking cold.”

John’s fins drooped. “Oh. Sorry.” He brightened only a moment later. “Let me warm you up, then!”

Ignoring Karkat’s protests, he curled his tail around the human’s legs and pulled him into a hug. There were a few muffled curses before arms wrapped begrudgingly around John. Karkat set his chin on the merman’s shoulder, giving a heavy sigh.

He spoke softly. “How are we even floating?”

“Internal air sacs,” John answered, snickering at Karkat’s disgusted noise. His own heart was beating too fast for comfort.

“You know,” the merman began, “I decided to swim beneath the docks last night.”

Karkat stiffened. “I’ve told you a million times you’re going to be seen--”

“As I was saying, beneath the docks. You have that fair-thing come around this time of year, right?” He looked to Karkat for confirmation, continuing when he got a nod. “So humans have a lot of ways to show affection, don’t they?”

He got a shrug in response. “I guess? I mean lots of people hold hands or hug… like we’re sort of doing right now. And kissing.”

John hummed. “That’s the thing you do with your lips, right?”

“That would be it.” Karkat’s face was strangely somber. “But that’s a really big sign of affection.”

“Really big, huh?” John’s face went from thoughtful to delighted. He pressed his lips to Karkat’s, holding them there for only a second before pulling back with his fins flared proudly.

Karkat’s face was doing the sunburn thing again.

**Author's Note:**

> This was simply a prompt sent to me on Tumblr. Hope you guys enjoyed it!


End file.
